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Lincoln
Memorial
In 1911, the U.S. government decided to build
a memorial in Washington, D.C., in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln
is known as Honest Abe and the man who freed the slaves during the Civil War
(1861-1865). He’s also the first United States president to have been killed by
an assassin’s bullet.
The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in 1922 on
Memorial Day, May 30. Lincoln’s only living child, his son Robert, was a guest
of honor.
The Lincoln Memorial stands in a park along the
banks of the Potomac River. Hundreds of thousands of people visit this memorial
each year.
WHAT DOES THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL LOOK LIKE?
The Lincoln Memorial is a white marble building.
Architect Henry Bacon designed the building in 1912. He designed it to look
like a temple from ancient Greece. Like a Greek temple, it has columns all
around it.
Each of the 36 columns that surround the
Lincoln Memorial represents a state. There were 36 states in the Union—the
United States of America—when Lincoln died in April 1865. Lincoln fought the
Civil War to hold the Union together. The names of the 36 states are written
above the columns.
There are 48 garlands carved on the uppermost walls
of the memorial. Below these garlands are the names of the 48 states that made
up the United States when the Lincoln Memorial was completed in 1922.
WHAT’S INSIDE THE MEMORIAL?
The Lincoln Memorial has three rooms. A wide
doorway leads to the main room. Facing the doorway is a huge marble statue of
Abraham Lincoln. He’s sitting down, but the statue is 19 feet (5.8 meters)
tall. American sculptor Daniel Chester French designed the statue.
Words are carved on the wall behind the
statue. They say, “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he
saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”
The side rooms hold stone tablets that carry
two of Lincoln’s most famous speeches. Murals are painted above the speeches.
Like the speeches, they recall Lincoln’s accomplishments: the emancipation
(freeing) of American slaves and holding the Union together.
Tags
United States
